Don't blame wild birds for avian infuenza
A Meat and Dairy Industries Article from All-Creatures.org

All of God's creatures have rights, a fact that most people don't seem to recognize. This includes both human and non-human animals, but not all of them can speak for themselves. As we continue to disregard the value of the lives of the billions of animals we eat, we also are destroying our air, land and water.

FROM

Karen Davis, PhD, United Poultry Concerns (UPC)
June 2015

Avian flu viruses are attracted to darkness, dampness, dirt, and weakened immune systems — the perfect conditions in which to mutate and proliferate in birds confined in filth without a glint of sunshine or a breath of fresh air. Let us not blame wild birds for an epidemic of our own making.

Letter to the Editor
The Daily Item
June 21, 2015
Sunbury, Pennsylvania

In his letter from June 15, Joel Furman overestimates the contribution of free-range chicken keeping to the current avian influenza epidemic in the Midwest. Not to say it isn’t a factor but to point out that industrialized poultry production, of which “free-range” is an extension rather than being an alternative, has vastly increased the potential of avian flu viruses to mutate into highly pathogenic strains.

Avian flu viruses have lived harmlessly in the intestines of waterfowl for millennia. Shed in sparsely populated outdoor settings in the droppings of birds whose immune systems have evolved to accommodate them, these viruses are kept in check. They are rapidly killed by sunlight and tend to dehydrate to death in the breeze.

Avian flu viruses are attracted to darkness, dampness, dirt, and weakened immune systems — the perfect conditions in which to mutate and proliferate in birds confined in filth without a glint of sunshine or a breath of fresh air. Let us not blame wild birds for an epidemic of our own making.

Current trends indicate that the global production of meat, eggs and dairy could double by 2050 — this at a time when experts are calling farmed animal production one of the top contributors to the most pressing environmental problems we face.

A wholesome diet free of animal products eliminates this core contributor to environmental destruction and leads to better health. It is the kindest and most reasonable diet each person can choose to prevent bird flu and protect the earth.

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